System and method for bilateral bone conduction coordination and balancing

Abstract

An apparatus includes a first transducer configured to be in mechanical communication with a first location of a recipient's body and configured to generate and transmit first auditory vibrations to a first ear region of the recipient and a second transducer configured to be in mechanical communication with a second location spaced from the first location and configured to generate and transmit second auditory vibrations to a second ear region of the recipient. The apparatus further includes at least one processor configured to receive input signals indicative of audio data and configured to, in response to the input signals, generate and transmit first control signals to the first auditory transducer and second control signals to the second auditory transducer. The first and second control signals are indicative of the audio data and configured to inhibit destructive interference of the first auditory vibrations and the second auditory vibrations at the first ear region and/or at the second ear region within a range of vibrational frequencies.

1 . An apparatus comprising:
 a first transducer configured to be in mechanical communication with a first location of a recipient's body and configured to generate and transmit first auditory vibrations to a first ear region of the recipient;   a second transducer configured to be in mechanical communication with a second location spaced from the first location and configured to generate and transmit second auditory vibrations to a second ear region of the recipient; and   at least one processor configured to receive input signals indicative of audio data and configured to, in response to the input signals, generate and transmit first control signals to the first auditory transducer and second control signals to the second auditory transducer, the first and second control signals indicative of the audio data and configured to inhibit destructive interference of the first auditory vibrations and the second auditory vibrations at the first ear region and/or at the second ear region within a range of vibrational frequencies.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first ear region comprises an inner ear region and/or a middle ear region and the second ear region comprises an inner ear region and/or a middle ear region. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the first transducer comprises a first bone conduction transducer worn by the recipient or implanted on and/or within the recipient's body at the first location and the second transducer comprises a second bone conduction transducer worn by the recipient or implanted on and/or within the recipient's body at the second location. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor comprises a first processor in operative communication with the first transducer and a second processor in operative communication with the second transducer, the first processor and the second processor in operative communication with one another. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor comprises a processor in operative communication with the first transducer and with the second transducer. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor comprises a band stop filter configured to inhibit the first auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies while not inhibiting the second auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the at least one processor comprises a band all-pass filter configured to invert a phase of the first auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies while not inverting a phase of the second auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 7 , wherein the at least one processor further comprises gain compensation circuitry configured to adjust a first gain of the first auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies and/or a second gain of the second auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the range of vibrational frequencies is from a first frequency to a second frequency, the first frequency greater than or equal to zero and the second frequency greater than or equal to 200 Hz and less than or equal to 2 kHz. 
     
     
         10 . A method comprising:
 receiving audio data from a sound source;   generating, in response to the audio data, first control signals configured to control generation of first sound vibrations by a first transducer;   generating, in response to the audio data, second control signals configured to control generation of second sound vibrations by a second transducer spaced from the first transducer;   transmitting the first control signals to the first transducer;   transmitting the second control signals to the second transducer; and   adjusting a gain and/or a phase of the first and/or second sound vibrations in a range of vibrational frequencies to adjust a sound magnitude and/or a sound source location perceived by a recipient of the first and second sound vibrations.   
     
     
         11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first transducer is configured to be in mechanical communication with a first location of a recipient's body and the second transducer is configured to be in mechanical communication with a second location of the recipient's body. 
     
     
         12 . The method of  claim 11 , wherein the first location is closer to a first ear of the recipient's body than to a second ear of the recipient's body and the second location is closer to the second ear than to the first ear. 
     
     
         13 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said adjusting a gain and/or a phase comprises reducing a gain of the first sound vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said reducing the gain of the first sound vibrations comprises reducing the gain of the first sound vibrations to zero across the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein said adjusting a gain and/or a phase comprises not adjusting the gain of the second sound vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein said adjusting a gain and/or a phase comprises adjusting a phase of the first sound vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16 , wherein adjusting the phase of the first sound vibrations comprises inverting the phase of the first sound vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies. 
     
     
         18 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the range of vibrational frequencies is from a first frequency to a second frequency, the first frequency greater than or equal to zero and the second frequency greater than or equal to 200 Hz and less than or equal to 2 kHz. 
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the first transducer and the second transducer are components of a bilateral bone conduction auditory prosthesis and said adjusting a gain and/or a phase is performed during a fitting procedure of the bilateral bone conduction auditory prosthesis to the recipient. 
     
     
         20 . A non-transitory computer readable storage medium having stored thereon a computer program that instructs a computer system to adjust a transfer function of at least one bone conduction actuator of a bilateral bone conduction system by at least:
 receiving audio data from a sound source;   generating, in response to the audio data, first control signals configured to control generation of first sound vibrations by a first bone conduction actuator;   generating, in response to the audio data, second control signals configured to control generation of second sound vibrations by a second bone conduction actuator spaced from the first bone conduction actuator;   transmitting the first control signals to the first bone conduction actuator;   transmitting the second control signals to the second bone conduction actuator; and   adjusting a gain and/or a phase of the first and/or second sound vibrations in a range of vibrational frequencies to adjust a sound magnitude and/or a sound source location perceived by a recipient of the first and second sound vibrations.   
     
     
         21 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 20 , wherein the first bone conduction actuator is configured to be in mechanical communication with a first location of a recipient's body and the second bone conduction actuator is configured to be in mechanical communication with a second location of the recipient's body. 
     
     
         22 . The non-transitory computer readable storage medium of  claim 20 , wherein the first bone conduction actuator and the second bone conduction actuator are components of a bilateral bone conduction auditory prosthesis and said adjusting a gain and/or a phase is performed during a fitting procedure of the bilateral bone conduction auditory prosthesis to the recipient. 
     
     
         23 . A method for fitting an example apparatus to a recipient, the method comprising:
 using two bone conduction transducers at two separate locations of the recipient's head to generate and transmit auditory vibrations concurrently to the recipient's two ears, the auditory vibrations indicative of sound to be perceived by the recipient;   adjusting a phase difference in a range of vibrational frequencies between the auditory vibrations from the two bone conduction transducers to increase loudness perceived by the recipient of the auditory vibrations in the range of vibrational frequencies; and   adjusting a gain in the range of vibrational frequencies of the auditory vibrations from at least one of the two bone conduction transducers so that the recipient perceives receiving the sound from a front spatial direction.   
     
     
         24 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprises counteracting an asymmetry in hearing by the recipient's two ears. 
     
     
         25 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising reducing feedback perceived by the recipient. 
     
     
         26 . The method of  claim 25 , wherein said reducing feedback comprises lowering the gain on the one of the two bone conduction transducers that generates more perceived feedback than the other bone conduction transducer. 
     
     
         27 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising optimizing for loudness of the perceived sound or for the centeredness of the perceived sound. 
     
     
         28 . The method of  claim 23 , further comprising assessing system performance using pure tone audiometry or synchronized wide band signals. 
     
     
         29 . The method of  claim 28 , wherein said using two bone conduction transducers comprises concurrently generating and transmitting auditory vibrations from the two bone conduction transducers, the auditory vibrations indicative of at least one substantially pure tone and said assessing system performance comprises comparing loudness and/or spatial balance of the sound perceived by the recipient to loudness and/or spatial balance of the sound perceived by the recipient when only a single bone conduction transducer is used to generate and transmit auditory vibrations.